What Nerf & Weddings Can Teach Us About Influencer Marketing

By: Stacey Furtado

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

The Nerf Facebook page is a model in excellent community management and influencer marketing. The brand has built a community of over 1 million fans that are committed to it through their influence, engagement and willingness to take action. Nerf has seen success by conducting each day in its community like “The Big Day”, treating new and tenured fans alike as, “The One” through comments, likes and direct acknowledgement. As a result, Nerf holds a powerful marketing tool it can pull the trigger on at any moment. Here’s a deeper look at what they’re doing right and why it’s making a difference to the bottom line.

Amateurs: The Best Facebook Influencers

Brands paying for access to “Influencers” for word of mouth campaigns is like hiring that expensive wedding photographer, who doesn’t know your brand or brand story.

Nerf’s focus on its existing advocates might be analogous to a wedding trend that’s gaining popularity as the digital generation starts to walk down the aisle. It’s hard to put a price on the beautiful, timeless moments captured by the wedding photographer on that monumental day in a couple’s life. But when putting a price tag on it, the fees for hiring a professional can get well into the thousands with no guarantee the photos truly embody the feeling of the day. Brands paying for access to “Influencers” for word of mouth campaigns is like hiring that expensive wedding photographer, who doesn’t know your brand or brand story. They are emotional mercenaries, there to keep their end of a business exchange and gone by the time the dance floor is swept.

Many couples are choosing to ditch the wedding photographer for a more authentic approach – crowdsourcing from their invited guests, the people in the world closest to the couple and most involved in their life. Utilizing event hashtags and shared albums, the day can be relived for years to come and still maintain its core feeling.  The interactions are authentic because these guests have an investment in the couple – just like Facebook Influencers, the organic great fans who are already engaging with the brand on Facebook.  This organic network of Influencers has an attachment to the brand that gives them a unique and important view. Getting them to keep sharing that view is crucial to the growth of the community. Nerf has done exactly that and enjoys 21% retention of these Influencers over a 7-day period. This number is well above the average (7%) for most Facebook brand communities and has given the brand a clear view of their best customers. Rather than settle for the obstructed view of paying for the commitment of professional “Influencers,” Nerf has put its time into the fans that know them best and are enjoying the full picture authentic Facebook Influencers provide.

The Rules of Engagement

A fan does not become an Influencer simply by a brand throwing well-crafted content at a fan once they like its page. That fan must first feel appreciated.

When the guests head home, the work isn’t over for the newlyweds. Thank You cards must be written to each and every attendee, showing gratitude for the time, money and effort spent. The same holds true for brands during the “afterlike” phase of the relationship. A fan does not become an Influencer simply by a brand throwing well-crafted content at a fan once they like its page. That fan must first feel appreciated. In a Facebook brand community, that means a comment, like or direct acknowledgement of the difference that fan is making.

Nerf comments on nearly every interaction in its community. From comments to fan posts, there is nothing too mundane to warrant a response. The Crowdly platform is about finding, fostering, and measuring authentic advocates within a Facebook brand community, and we used it to measure Nerf’s approach and their results. Over a 7-day period on Facebook, the brand interacted with its fans an impressive 38 times. This action from the brand has resulted in 162 Fan Reactions, driving conversation in the community and leaving each of those fans with a personal connection to the Nerf brand. That connection is important when it’s time to ask those fans to take action in the form of a special offer, contest or vote.

Invite Action, Enjoy Sales

Their [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Facebook fans] generosity is dependent on them feeling like a part of the community. If a brand wants its sales to correlate with its likes, treating every fan like a potential sale is a must.

Often times, weddings amount to a significant haul of presents for the newlyweds. However, the generosity of friends and family is not a given. If a close acquaintance were kept off the invite-list, the likelihood of them purchasing a gift decreases significantly. The same holds true of a Facebook fan. Their generosity is dependent on them feeling like a part of the community. If a brand wants its sales to correlate with its likes, treating every fan like a potential sale is a must.

• A fan is 425% more likely to positively engage with a brand over a 10-day period if that brand replies to a fan with a comment or like [Crowdly]
• 93% of Facebook users share shopping suggestions [Jeff Bullas]
• 80% of users who received a response to their post made a purchase as a result of the interaction [Jeff Bullas]

Nerf has seen success in encouraging their Facebook fans to vote on important visibility opportunities for the brand. By rallying its ready fanbase to their cause, Nerf was able to place two of its products as voted to Top-20 Wal-Mart toys going into the holiday season. Being on that list means visibility on the Wal-Mart website, social media channels, print media, and in-store placements. That visibility is a huge, earned win with a significant direct impact on sales for the RapidStrike and Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow at a time of year when both buyers and competition for their attention is at its highest.

Relationships are sustained by an authenticity of emotion, appreciation for the other partner and reasonable, actionable requests. Facebook brand communities are built on these same core values. By treating each fan in its community like the most important member, they have created a network of Facebook Influencers that will give Nerf the fire-power it needs to continue its success on shelves this holiday season.

How does your brand stack-up against your competition? 

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]